Preparation guides

Infusions?

Infusion

Steeping delicate plant material in water that has been boiled.

Hot water is poured over leaves, flowers or other soft parts and left to steep, usually covered so aromatic compounds do not escape with the steam. Infusion suits material that gives up its constituents easily; tougher material is generally decocted instead.

Open the full glossary →Got it

Soft parts — leaves, flowers — steeped in water that has just boiled.

1. Bring water to the boil and take it off the heat.
2. Pour it over the plant material in a vessel you can cover.
3. Cover while it steeps. Aromatic compounds are volatile, and an uncovered cup loses much of what you were steeping for to the steam.
4. Steep for the time the material calls for, then strain.

Covering matters more than people expect: it is the difference between an aromatic infusion and hot water that smells like the room.

Decoctions?

Decoction

Simmering tough plant material in water to extract it.

Roots, bark, seeds and other dense material are simmered — not merely steeped — often for twenty minutes or more. The sustained heat draws out constituents that a short infusion would leave behind.

Open the full glossary →Got it

Simmering dense material — roots, bark, seeds — for long enough to draw out what a short steep would leave behind.

1. Break the material up so more surface is exposed.
2. Start it in cold water rather than dropping it into boiling water.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer, covered, and hold it there — commonly twenty minutes or more for roots and bark.
4. Strain while hot.

Decoction is the standard approach for material an infusion cannot penetrate. The two are not interchangeable.

Infused oils?

Infused oil

Plant material steeped in a carrier oil.

Dried plant material is left in an oil so that oil-soluble constituents transfer into it, then strained out. Infused oils are used on their own or thickened into salves. Moisture left in the plant material is the usual cause of spoilage.

Open the full glossary →Got it

Steeping plant material in a carrier oil so oil-soluble constituents transfer into it.

1. Use thoroughly dried material. Water left in the plant is the usual cause of spoilage.
2. Cover it completely with oil in a clean jar — material above the oil line is where mould starts.
3. Leave it to infuse, then strain the material out completely.
4. Store somewhere cool and dark, and label it with the date.

Discard any oil that smells rancid or off, or that shows growth of any kind. Infused oils are a common point of failure precisely because the spoilage is easy to miss.

Salves?

Salve

A semi-solid preparation of infused oil thickened with wax.

Plant material is infused into an oil, strained, then set with beeswax or a similar thickener so it holds its shape and stays where it is applied.

Open the full glossary →Got it

An infused oil thickened with wax so it stays where it is put.

1. Start from a finished, strained infused oil.
2. Warm it gently with beeswax or a similar thickener until the wax melts.
3. Test the set by cooling a little on a cold spoon, and adjust the wax before pouring.
4. Pour into clean containers and let it set undisturbed.

Drying plant material

Removing moisture so material keeps rather than moulds.

1. Dry out of direct sun, somewhere with moving air.
2. Keep layers thin and turn them, so nothing stays damp underneath.
3. Dry until material is properly brittle — leaves should crumble and stems snap rather than bend.
4. Cool completely before storing. Warm material sweats inside a jar.

Anything that still bends is not dry. Stored slightly damp, it will mould.

Storing dried material

Keeping dried material usable, and knowing when it is not.

1. Store in airtight containers away from light and heat.
2. Label with what it is and when it was dried — unlabelled jars become unusable within a season.
3. Check occasionally for condensation, which means it was not dry enough.
4. Discard anything musty, discoloured or showing any growth.